Tuesday, August 08, 2006

"Let them alone"

This morning at Mass, the Gospel reading confirmed for me a decision I had made. Has it ever happened to you that you found an answer to some problem through the Scriptures proclaimed in the liturgy?Recently I was involved in a difficult situation, and to resolve it a decision was made that I knew would upset a certain person. She is not directly involved in the situation anymore but had been in the past and a strong emotional bond had developed about it. Anyway, I was debating if I should try to discuss it with her and perhaps come to an understanding.After praying about it I realized that part of my reason for doing that had to do with my own self-interest. I don't like knowing that someone might have some bad feelings about me even though I did nothing to offend. Sometimes, too, people are so strongly emotionally invested in a situation that it's hard for them to talk about it, and I realized she wouldn't be able to listen to what I had to say (based on some past experiences).So I decided to let it go. There was no point in this particular situation to try and dialogue.In today's Gospel, Jesus said something that upset the Pharisees. When his disciples told him they were angry at him, he just replied, "Let them alone. They're blind guides of the blind."

That confirmed my decision. It's not to say that the other person is blind, but just to acknowledge that sometimes it's better to let things go. The priest gave a great homily about this. He pointed out that Jesus reacted in different ways. Sometimes he was direct and told people things rather strongly. Sometimes he was gentle and tried to open their hearts. But other times, like in this Gospel, he realized there was no point in a useless debate. So he let it go.

Lord, help me to learn when to let it go and when to reach out to someone!

3 comments:

Robin L. in TX
said...

So timely, Sr. Lorraine. I was talking with a friend today about this very subject. It is very difficult to discern when it is our own disordred desire to speak or not to speak and it is diffficult to discern God's will in the matter.

Isn't He wonderful when He points the way through Scripture, the Gospel, other people or even bumper stickers or billboards!

Sr. Lorraine, how appropriate for you. There has been many times where God has answered me in regard to difficult decisions. Every day life can be difficult. Even little things in life can be difficult. On some days, I browse through the FSP's website and I find something helpful for the day. I feel sorry sometimes that many people don't have God in their lives or they're too busy, and they don't think about Him or that we all have a purpose, an end, and only little time in this life. We can get caught up with little things that seem big to us, but put everything in perspective, then those little/big things will be easier to overcome, live through, etc.

Thank you for your inspiration. I look forward to reading and reflecting on what you share. God bless you always!

if only everyone would think of how the lord would react this would be a much more loving world.the lord is always with us and will always guide to what is right.we need to listen and invite him into our lives.its inspirational that youre thinking of how jesus would react as you will encourage others to act the same.god bless

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Even though I am a Daughter of St. Paul, I have a special place in my heart for St. Thomas Aquinas. For some reason of the heart that I can't quite explain, I have always loved St. Thomas. He is my teacher, my friend and my model.

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I am a Daughter of St. Paul who currently works on the editorial staff of Pauline Books and Media. Besides prayer and work, I like to write, garden, do logic puzzles and take walks with my friends. Please note: this is my personal blog, and not an official site of the Daughters of St. Paul.

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